Even before recent dramatic shifts in education, the engagement of students with each other and their education was evolving. Changes in technology, lecture capture, the cost-of-living crisis and the rise in declared mental health issues have all influenced student behaviour.
Currently, almost half of UK students classify themselves as commuter students and approximately 55% of students work part-time. Commuting or balancing work and study commitments can eat into student’s time. This can make it more challenging for them to fully immerse themselves in the overall university experience and leave them less time and energy to engage with other students or academic support.
Mental health issues can also significantly impact student experience. Students struggling with mental health may find it challenging to attend classes regularly, leading to gaps in their learning. Social interactions can be particularly difficult which can lead to feelings of isolation and difficulty in forming and maintaining relationships. With these changing patterns of student engagement, maths departments are finding they have to adapt the way they engage and interact with students and facilitate the interaction with their peers.
This event will consider examples of successful initiatives to build communities in mathematical sciences and look at how we can expand our collaboration in this area. It will include talks from invited speakers, lightning presentations on student community in a distance learning context and workshops to investigate enablers and barriers to student engagement.